Stop the video at the 6 second mark and take a good look at the wing pylons. Are those the same from the F-35 that we saw yesterday(specifically the AIM-9 pylon...the others not so much)? If so, and I'm really not sure, then this should be a pretty carefree part of the test program.
No, the Aim-9 pylon on the F-35 cants out.
ReplyDeleteyou're talking cant. i'm talking about the actual pylon.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the blowup:
ReplyDeletehttp://sitelife.aviationweek.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/1/7/419ca751-ff55-4044-871b-daa387107b10.Full.jpg
The front and back of pylon on the F-35 is sloped.
Now look at the shot of the F-16V. There is no slope to the front or rear of the pylon.
http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt271/SpudmanWP/8e9968bc.jpg
Exit question: What is that big bulge on the left side of the nose?
Solomon,
ReplyDeleteThe canted part is the pylon, the part attached to it is the launcher rail. They are almost certainly of the same LAU-127/128 family and could both be LAU-128 launchers which would be my assumption without evidence to the contrary.
In answer to SpudmanWP's exit question: They are part of the Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) system.
ReplyDeleteSMSgt Mac, they are different rails. Look at the two photos again, the F-35 rail is only as tall as the diameter of a 9X but the F-16V rail is much taller than a 9X is wide. The F-16V rail also slopes towards the front while the F-35 rail is flat for it's entire length.
ReplyDeleteOops Spudman's right. Those look like the F-22s Advanced Rail Launchers without the trapeze rig.
ReplyDelete